110 kilometers northwest of Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, on the main stream of the Indus River, the Tabera Dam has been standing for half a century. This world's largest earth rock dam integrates power generation, flood control, and irrigation, and its installed capacity is increasing from 4888 megawatts to 6418 megawatts. In July 2026, the water intake shaft of the fifth phase expansion project will achieve its water retention target on schedule. At the same time, the low-level flood discharge outlet of the fourth phase expansion is undergoing testing and debugging. The two expansion projects are progressing synchronously, with the presence of Chinese enterprises running through them.

Chinese enterprises deeply embedded in Pakistan's largest hydropower station

The fourth phase expansion of Tabera was put into operation in 2018, adding 3 new units and expanding the capacity by 1410 megawatts. PowerChina has undertaken civil engineering projects and overcome technical challenges such as the installation of the world's largest pressure steel pipe bifurcation group and the 100 meter deep water gate. The fifth phase expansion will transform the left bank irrigation tunnel into a water diversion and power generation tunnel, adding three single 470 MW units and increasing the total installed capacity to 6418 MW, accounting for 25% of Pakistan's national electricity installed capacity.

The fifth phase project is funded by the World Bank with a total investment of 390 million US dollars and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank with a total investment of 300 million US dollars. PowerChina will undertake the civil construction, while HEC will provide three single unit 504 MW hydroelectric generators. On July 24, 2026, the first turbine wheel was successfully developed, which is the largest single unit capacity hydropower unit exported from China, and all performance indicators are superior to industry standards. Keywords: hydropower station, new energy, hydropower engineering

A dam with half a century of output

Since its operation in 1974, the Tabela Dam has generated a total of 586 billion kilowatt hours of electricity and irrigated 516.8 billion cubic meters of water. In July 2026, the rainy season caused the water level in the reservoir to rise to 1484 feet, and all 17 generator units were put into operation. The fourth and fifth phases of expansion will be completed by Chinese enterprises, and Tambara is carrying the power and agricultural lifeline of Pakistan with a larger installed capacity.Editor/Cheng Liting